2012 bear-hunting season ending Saturday

Saturday is the last day of the 2012 black bear hunt and hunters — who have taken a lower toll this year than normal — will take to the woods and animal-rights activists will again demonstrate their opposition.

The North Jersey hunt was inhibited this year by warmer than usual temperatures, rain and other factors, leading to a kill of 228 bears during its first four days, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. At the same point last year, hunters checked in 369 bears.

Nonetheless, Larry Ragonese, DEP spokesman, said the numbers so far reflect progress toward the long-term goals of reducing the bear population to a “manageable” level within the habitat available to them and lowering the number of bear-human encounters.

“Whether it’s 228 or 300 or 400, that’s a step in that right direction,” he said. “It’s better for bears, better for people; we’ll coexist a lot better.”

Most of the bears, 147, were killed in Sussex County. None was killed in Bergen County and 18 were killed in Passaic County.

State wildlife officials have estimated there are 2,800 to 3,000 black bears living in North Jersey, down from 3,400 two years ago. Sightings, complaints and human encounters also have decreased.

The hunt in an area west of Route 287 and north of Route 80, has proceeded without any major accidents or problems, Ragonese said. But one incident did arise in Warren County when a resident called in about several pellets that struck her home in Harmony Township. Wildlife officers will be penalizing a hunter who was found responsible. State law prohibits hunters from carrying loaded firearms within 450 feet of a building.

Animal-rights activists have scheduled a final protest of the bear hunt at 10 a.m. outside a bear checking station in Fredon Township. They are backing a bill proposed by State Senator Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) that would ban baiting bears with food and require certain residences in core bear habitat to use bear-resistant garbage containers.

The DEP has not taken a position on the bill.

Thomas Eveland, a Penn State University science professor and hunter who wrote a report about baiting for the Animal Protection League of New Jersey, said the practice runs contrary to the state’s goal of reducing the bear population. Many bait mixes are filled with foods high in fat and carbohydrates that dramatically increase bear reproductive rates, he said. Baiting also causes bears to condition humans with food and can lead to dangerous encounters.

“It’s like that one rotten apple in the basket: It doesn’t seem to fit,” Eveland said of baiting within the state’s bear management plan. “It’s just not a wildlife management tool, and they’re setting themselves up for disaster.”

Angi Metler, executive director of the APL, said it has been a frustrating week for many members who have heard gunshots from their backyards.

“The truth needs to come out against this hunt,” she said. “We’re not going away anytime soon. We’re going to continue our work for permanent bear protection.”

Another bear-related statistic that’s gone down is the number of hunters with bear permits. This year, about 7,850 permits were sold, compared with 9,200 by the end of last year’s season. Ragonese said it’s hard to say how many hunters are actively seeking bear, as some might pay the extra few dollars for the permit while mainly going after deer. Also, hunters who have killed a bear before might have decided that they didn’t need to do it again, he said.

The state initially expected hunters to check in a similar amount of bears as last year, when 469 were killed. But the DEP has said warm and rainy weather has interfered with this year’s hunting season. Bears and hunters alike are less active during 60-degree temperatures characteristic of the hunt’s first few days, officials said.

A reduced bear population, Ragonese said, could be another factor influencing the hunt, because it is more uncommon to come across a bear.